Navy Vet Declines Award at NFL Stadium Due to Anthem Protesters

A 65-year-old disabled Navy veteran has declined to receive an award from the NFL’s New Orleans Saints on the field at the Superdome, citing the league’s anthem protests as his reason for doing so.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Retired Navy Cmdr. John Wells, executive director of the national Military Veterans Advocacy program, was selected to receive the Peoples Health Champion award. The award is given by Medicare to Americans over the age of 65 who have made significant contributions after reaching their senior years.

While the Slidell, Louisiana, resident was scheduled to receive the award this coming Sunday, he told the organization Wednesday he could not bring himself “in good conscience, to enter an NFL stadium” due to the protests against “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

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“Although I am touched and honored to be selected for such an award, the ongoing controversy with NFL players’ disrespect for the national flag forces me to decline to participate in the presentation,” Wells said.

“Since this award is tainted with the dishonorable actions of the NFL and its players, I cannot accept it. To do so would be hypocritical.”

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On Thursday, the Saints issued a statement taking unsubtle jabs at Wells — who, unlike Saints players, isn’t allowed to exercise his right to free speech without official rebuke from the front office.

“Respectfully and honorably, we chose Mr. Wells for the Peoples Health Champion Award purposefully for this game to bring to light the exact issues that he and his organization represent — the health and well being of our military, veterans and their families,” the statement read.

“Unfortunately, he has chosen very publicly not to accept this honor and refused the opportunity to promote the very cause for which he was being honored and distract from awareness we hoped to build throughout our community. We respect his decision, he has that right, and we thank him for his service to our country and his past efforts on behalf of the military and veterans.”

Wait, so political speech as a distraction is bad? This is odd, as it seems to happen every time the opening notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” are played in any NFL stadium across this fruited plain, usually without comment from the franchise. I guess since Mr. Wells can’t run the 40 in 4.4 or a good fade route, his political speech in support of American values is just too much of a distraction for an NFL team.

The Saints also noted that “(o)ur players have chosen to stand for our National Anthem out of respect for the flag, our servicemen and women and veterans in every game since our inception in 1967 with the exception of one game – the Week Three game at Carolina when a few of our players did sit.”

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This is true only in the most semantical sense; after Week 3, the Saints players have knelt before the anthem on a number of occasions. Some have also taken a knee during the anthem, according to the Times Picayune. In other words, they’re still using the anthem as a vehicle for political protest — which is a prima facie sign of disrespect for it — they’re just not sitting down for it.

“Our respect and support of our servicemen and women and veterans is unquestionable,” the Saints’ statement concluded. “During this weekend’s game we will again proudly recognize our servicemen and women and veterans and we do so with the full cooperation, appreciation and attendance of our military heroes.”

This is a bit presumptuous, considering that “our military heroes” haven’t been 100 percent jazzed about the NFL and its take on military protests as of late.

We can also prove it’s false: One military hero won’t be attending. He served in the Navy from 1972 until 1994. After that, he became a lawyer and specialized in military and veterans law. He’s been working for veterans’ causes well into retirement.

His name is John Wells, and he refuses to come onto the field at the Superdome to receive this award. And we don’t blame him one bit.